A Prayer for the Day(s) After Epiphany 2021

Sovereign Lord, as you prevail upon our nation’s leaders’ deliberations today, may the reign of your Spirit’s conviction preside and precipitate due and timely proper awareness of any complicity to rain down upon those among us especially in deep and dire need of repentance, both individually and corporately.

May “We the People of the United States, in Order to [continue to] form a more perfect Union, [re]establish Justice, [re]insure domestic Tranquility, provide [anew] for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,” over and over, once again this day reaffirm here and now the ordained establishment of “this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Let it be so by your grace, O Holy One, for such a time as this unto the glory of our Creator who has endowed us “with certain unalienable Rights”, among which of “these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We make such “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone” in our country and particularly on this present day at this prescient moment in time for “all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

In your holy name and redeeming mercy,
Amen

The Aftermath of Epiphany 2021

Among a multitude of lines crossed by the federal executive branch of government in office at present, of which many took note much earlier leading up to this past Wednesday, it appears to have been the Day of Epiphany in more ways than one, particularly for those in the current outgoing administration.

The week’s egregious event(s) of grave concern on that day apparently provided for the timely tipping point at which the threshold has finally been breached, though not necessarily for some still staunch supporters as lingering holdouts albeit amidst diminishing returns.

It is disconcertingly even more so a suddenly saddening sordid sight. Now added to shameful memory in our nation’s consciousness as a disruptively grievous sobering site on which the incitement of unruly harmful forces was unduly sanctioned by a sitting commander-in-chief. No wonder the scrambling being witnessed in the defecation storm’s aftermath.

God help us all in the midst of our utter utmost brokenness as we the people seek again to be the people for one another whose government is meant to be of, for and by the people of these supposedly United States. America, may God shed God’s grace anew upon thee in the new year, hopefully redeeming the years the locusts have stolen. Lord, in your mercy….

On This Day Different From Other Days

“Instead, they were longing for a better country….”
—‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:16‬a (NIV‬‬) [after Epiphany]

Today, “in the desecrated chambers of democracy”, facing the aftermath of mob insurrectionists’ inundating the U.S. Capitol, the duly elected people’s representatives upon their duty and renewed vow to uphold and defend the Constitution of these United States are charged and blessed anew with the mandate and honor of rebuilding and reuniting our democratic republic toward a more perfect union.

O, U.S. of A., how deeply divided a nation of extremist polarizing factions are we in this present day…

As one nation under God, among fellow citizens of the undiscovered country, indivisibly called to prayerful intercession on behalf of one another with liberty and justice for every person, let us reject, renounce and refrain from inciting any and all seditionist tendencies and conspiratorial theorists’ efforts among us. May we instead engender, encourage and empower the best of us and the better angels of our nature for the greater good and common welfare of our shared humanity.

This is my heart in prayer, on this day different among other days, unto the holy One who intercedes for us before the throne of grace. O Lord, by your sovereign hand of redemption and reconciliation, let the healing of this our nation among all nations begin again, herewith in and under your mercy

A New Year’s New Beginnings in Joy

Today

1/1/2021

“It seemed good to us….” (Acts 15:25a’)

Dear Ones in the Beloved Family of Faith,

Effective today, Friday 1 January 2021, I am officially serving full-time as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Winchester and Portland, IN where both congregations have affirmed the call together for shared pastoral leadership with one another and me. A new year of new beginnings in the Lord beckons me anew to faith-filled obedience in ordained ministry — “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29)

Acts 15:25a (NASB)

“it seemed good to us, having become of one mind….”

This month marks sixteen years of service for me in east central Indiana as a member of Whitewater Valley Presbytery whose commission on ministry (COM) has approved the churches’ joint covenant in mutual agreement. New opportunities and expectations engender renewed hopes and aspirations amidst the dangers and crises of the current times we are facing together in these latter days.

“Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church….” (Acts 15:22a)

Alongside each and everyone called to this mission in ministry with others in community, I endeavor to remain steadfast, standing firm under the mercy, moving forward in faith together toward advancing further the reign of our sovereign Lord in our midst. Blessed by providence with provision in perseverance, we proceed as God almighty presides over us and our progress through this present pilgrimage.

Acts 15:28 “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials

Praying in the new year ahead, continually lifting others up together gathered before the throne of God’s healing grace, I rejoice in the Lord renewing our rededication to each other as the Spirit renews our fellowship and commitment to one another in Christ. The Spirit of Jesus is with, in and among us! Thanks and Praise be to the Lord our God Who alone is worthy to receive all blessing, honor, glory and power unto the Ancient of Days.

A Joyous and Prosperous New Year of Blessings to you and yours!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — above all — Praise Adonai

Amen

At the Time of an Election

“Under your law we live, great God,

and by your will we govern ourselves.

Help us as good citizens

to respect neighbors whose views differ from ours,

so that without partisan anger,

we may work out issues that divide us,

and elect candidates to serve the common welfare;

through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.”

— Book of Common Worship by Presbyterian Church

https://a.co/fJcP71h

Every Word Has Its Place

“Every word is alive and is at home in a certain place. The word in the family is different from the word in the office or in public. The word that is born in the warmth of personal relationship freezes in the cold air of the public. The word of command, which comes out of public service, would cut the bonds of trust in the family. Every word is supposed to have its place and stay in it. As a consequence of the spread of the public word in newspapers and radio, the nature and boundaries of various words are no longer felt clearly, and indeed the special character of the personal word has been almost destroyed. In place of genuine words, we now have chatter. Words no longer have any weight. There is too much talk. When the boundaries of various words are erased, however, when words become rootless and homeless, then the word loses truth, and this almost necessarily gives rise to the lie. When the various conventions of life are no longer mutually observed, then words become untrue.”

— I Want to Live These Days with You: A Year of Daily Devotions by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

https://a.co/4lYy7ho

Wanting in the Wake of Wonder

I have just, once again, as if for the first time, discovered a reason why it is that I am, at times, drawn to watch news reports and read articles on current events of note through our present times, suddenly reacquainted with an awareness of what drives me to keep on keeping on being and becoming ever more abreast of issues with insightful perspectives to bear witness and to hopefully be deeply prescient upon the recent and ongoing plights of our society today. 

The sordid significant streams of self-disquietingly thoughtful reflection serendipitously sought that, eventually, seemingly inundate, satiate and suffuse one’s inner life, apparently help reconnect me further with a continual desire to remember my father’s love and loves of life, family and friends along the journey of journeys unto eternity.^[1]

I miss my Dad. I yearn for whatever semblance of paternal wisdom and fatherly advice he would generously, keenly and timely provide throughout life lived together with loved ones. 

I remember watching Dad in his retirement, intently viewing television for hours on end with focused concentration and undistracted attention toward various items in a variety of news broadcasts. There would be several sections of journalistically reputable newspapers strewn about after his reading them each day throughout the week and especially the Sunday edition of prominent publications hot off the press along with a diverse plethora of weekly and monthly magazines from subscriptions and sometimes nearby newsstands in town. This would inevitably well inform his contributions to stimulating dialogue in the casual course of engaging conversations with others. 

By his example, Dad inculcated in me a cultivating, captivating curiosity for currency in national and world affairs that would have untold repercussions on my developing certain principled views on civics and international issues. A lawyer, labor and business leader in his decades long career following higher education and training, after service in the Philippines under U.S. General Wainwright’s command during WWII, my veteran father’s acute and heightened sense of duty, righteousness and responsibility concerning liberty and justice for all was a poignant influence on his son’s worldview. It would later serve to strengthen my vocation in ministry upon encountering the theological approach of holding the bible in one hand and the published news of current events in the other while praying through daily devotions with the offering of intercessions unto the One able to accomplish that which would address our concerns for the day. 

I am continuously seeking, searching for such tethered feeling of ancestral embrace with my father, imagined as though face to face. I constantly aspire toward that experience of parental approval uniquely obtained from the relationship key to a sense of identity as a man’s man can only derive from that one filial connection. It speaks to a familial interconnectedness. One realizes, albeit posthumously, that such transcendent inheritance is more pertinent and important to a farther extent than they had even already been aware of before. The reality of a parent’s impartation of prosperity in perspectives prior to their passing is wrought with similarity of sentiment on to one’s own progeny for posterity in perpetuity. 

We visited his grave on Friday, Mom and I and three among my younger of six daughters. They, their “Lola”/my mother, and I marked the time together in loving remembrance on 9/11 eleven years after his departure from this earth, now nineteen years since our nation’s terrible experience of world events on September 11. 

By my father’s gravesite at midday on 9/11 with loving memory of songs and family in 2020

We are left upon the aftermath in the wake of unspeakable grief and loss continuing on amidst times of global uncertainty amongst hundreds of thousands more afflicted and multiple millions affected through the present pandemic. I am bereft of sensibilities it seems at this point potentially desensitized to the dearth of dread for deathly disease plaguing the nation’s most vulnerable among us. I wonder what Dad would say today. 

---

^[1] “Now unto the [One] Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, the Only Wise—be honor and glory forever and ever, Amen.”

Prayer: Blessing for the Sick

A BLESSING FOR THE SICK

Lord Jesus, when you were on earth, they brought the sick to you and you healed them. Today we ask you to bless those in sickness, in weakness and in pain.

For those who are blind and who cannot see the light of the sun; the beauty of the world, or the faces of their friends:
Bless your people, O Lord.

For those who are deaf and cannot hear the voices which speak to them:
Bless your people, O Lord.

For those who are helpless and who must lie in bed while others go out and in:
Bless your people, O Lord.

For those whose minds have lost their reason and those who are so nervous that they cannot cope with life:
Bless your people, O Lord.

For those who must face life under some handicap; those whose weakness means that they must always be careful:
Bless your people, O Lord.

For those suffering from debilitating or terminal illness and for their caregivers:
Bless your people, O Lord.

For those who are near the hour of death and in their final struggle:
Bless your people, O Lord.

Father, your only Son took upon himself the sufferings and weakness of the whole human race; through his passion and cross he taught us how good can be brought out of suffering. Look upon our beloved ones who are ill, whom we now remember in a special way. In the midst of illness and pain, may they be united with Christ, who heals both body and soul. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, as we ask your help for dear ones who are ill, we ask you to help us to be healing people in our time and place. May your love touch others through us, and may we help all people to live in peace. We ask this through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Prayers for the Sick

17 Mile Drive (July 2010)

God of wind, flame, joy, love

Today’s Lectionary. Try the app: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id583885035

Almighty God,

who on the day of Pentecost

sent your Holy Spirit to the apostles

with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame,

filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel:

by the power of the same Spirit

strengthen us to witness to your truth

and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God, heal us in spirit

www.presbyterianmission.org/devotion/daily/2020/6/29/

Collect

Great God, you are one God,

and you bring together what is scattered

and mend what is broken.

Unite us with the scattered peoples of the earth

that we may be one family of your children.

Bind up all our wounds,

and heal us in spirit,

that we may be renewed as disciples

of Jesus Christ, our Master and Savior.†

Amen.

— Monday 29 June 2020

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/daily-prayer-pc-usa/id568520697